With a bit less than two weeks of the Harris/Biden Administration remaining, several trends have become obvious. Democrat/socialist/communist (D/s/c) government operatives are threatening to resign. Others are resigning to avoid being fired, likely in the hope the Trump Administration won’t investigate their unethical, potentially criminal, acts. And many are doing whatever last minute damage they can on their way out the door. That kind of malice gives new meaning to the “peaceful transfer of power.”

One would think the Department of Justice (DOJ), the agency responsible for law enforcement, for the fair, equal and non-partisan application of justice, to be above such mischief. One would think wrongly:

Graphic: X Screenshot

Three former senior Department of Justice officials breached confidentiality policies by leaking non-public investigative details to reporters before an election, an investigative summary from the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) reads. [skip]

The OIG investigation found that three then Senior DOJ Officials violated DOJ’s Confidentiality and Media Contacts Policy by leaking to select reporters, days before an election, non-public DOJ investigative information regarding ongoing DOJ investigative matters, resulting in the publication of two news articles that included the non-public DOJ investigative information. The OIG investigation also found that one of these three then Senior DOJ Officials violated the Confidentiality and Media Contacts Policy and DOJ’s Social Media Policy by reposting through a DOJ social media account links to the news articles. 

Unsurprisingly, the OIG summary does not identify the three “Senior DOJ Officials,” nor what information they leaked or the target of those leaks. Figuring out the target doesn’t take much imagination, and in September, Sen. Chuck Grassley wrote a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland about the DOJ’s and FBI’s leaking of information about Donald Trump to the media. 

Graphic: Grassley letter. Public Domain.

Grassley’s letter notes even Robert’s Mueller’s $40 million dollar failed investigation into Trump didn’t deal with or release such materials for lack of enough evidence and because it would be a fishing expedition. The letter concluded:

Graphic: Grassley letter. Public Domain.

Leaking is one of DC's primary blood sports, but doesn’t normally rise to the level of malice seen in D/s/c’s never-ending pursuit of Donald Trump. It’s therefore satisfying that their efforts to prevent Trump from a second term have so badly failed. However, it’s distressing they have learned nothing from that failure, other than that Americans are stupid for refusing to praise their brilliance, and all they really have to do is change their messaging, the better to trick Deplorables into doing what they want.

What really disturbs them is they’ve overplayed their hand, and the more honest of them know it. Leaking to the media no longer achieves the desired results because their overuse of their media propaganda arm has convinced all but about 30% of Americans the media can’t be trusted. If the media says it’s dark at midnight, 70% of the population is going to have to go outside to verify it for themselves. 

Their malicious leaks about Pete Hegseth, Kash Patel and other Trump nominees for cabinet posts appear to have had little or no effect. Their confirmations seem likely if not certain. Republicans infamous for daily earning the title “the stupid party” are showing initial signs of wising up, at least in part because of Trump’s margin of victory and a growing willingness of Republican voters to primary Republican politicians who let their egos get in the way of American’s interests.

Ultimately, the only sure way to stop, or at least diminish, leaks is to aggressively identify, fire and prosecute leakers. Just one more essential task for the second Trump term.

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Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, life-long athlete, firearm instructor, retired police officer and high school and college English teacher. He is a published author and blogger. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor.